Propulsion of submarine vessels



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Wllhlilldlll lL. 1t. Elllh'lh'll", UlE SCHENETdDWyNEW YURK, dliSlilGrNOlEt TO GENERAL ZELECTMU UUMPANW, 1d. UMPMATIN UJF lll'lEFlll YORK.-

lPlltUPULSllUlll' Ul SBhll-imbl 'lTlESSlElLS .I specincation'oi Letters Patent.

patented -liuiy e, mao.

.application tiled .luly 1b?, 1918. denial No. 214,888

To all 'whom t may concern: l

Be it known'that l, WILLIAM lh. R. EM-

iun'r, a citizen ot the lUnited States, residing at Schenectady, in the county oit4 Schenectady, Stateoit N ew York, have invented certain lnew and usetul improvements in lPropulsion ot Submarine Vessels, of which the following is a specication.`

'llhe present-invention relates to the propulsion of submarine vessels and has tor its object to'fprovidean improved vsystem for propelling such vessels on the surtace and when submerged.

'According to my invention ll utilize an elastic duid-turbine as a prime mover and connect it toa propeller shatt through suitable reduction gearing, and ll'supply elastic Huid to the turbine trom'. a suitable boiler installation which is preterably oil red. When running on the surface the boiler installation is red :in the usual manner oil being supplied trom fan oil tank and airl trom the atmosphere. v y

llfhen' running submerged atmospheric air ot course is not available and ll then use 'oxygen in firingthe boiler installation. 'lFhe oxygen is stored in liquid toria in suitable tanks and preferably under," considerable pressure. 'lhe `tanks may be'supplied ready charged or l may provide liquid .oxygen making apparatus on the vessel itselt for charging them. Anyf suitable apparatus may be utilized tor thisfpurpose. ll preterably employ an apparatus-whichseparates the nitrogen trom liquid airby .distillationv and delivers the oxygen under pressure to i the storage tanks.

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The method followed in tiring ywhen sub.-v merged is that the furnace gases are' continuously circulated through the boiler installation by means ot a suitable blower and these gases are enriched at or in the neigh-l borhood ofthe oil burner by a suitable supply oi oxygen from the storage tanks in such a manner as to maintain properconibus-l tion condition. 'In order to carry this out the boilerl installation may be inclosed. inside a vsealed compartment the supply ot .ituel, as tor example, oil, and oxygenY to the burners bein controlled. from the outside.

The excess o furnace gasesprodu'ced by the' introduction offtiiel and oxygen may be pumped overboard or allowed to pass lout by the pressure generated in the combustion compartment. As will be readily appre- .ln the drawing, Figure 1 is a diagram-` matic plan view of afshippropulsion system embodyingmy invention, and Fig. 2 is a sectional end elevation, the front ot the'y sealed chamber being removed.

vReferring te the drawing, d indicates the hull ot a submarine, andf and 6 indicate elastic iluid turbineswhich drive propeller shafts/7 and 8 through suitable reduction gearings 9 and 10. lElastic tluid, as steam, is supplied tothe turbines and 6 by conduitll whiohleads from a suitable boiler installation, here shown as two boilers 12 and 13. Boilers 12 and 13 are located in a sealed compartment 1d and they are provided with oil burners to which'oil is ted under suitable pressure 'trom a tank v16 through pipes 1i?.v Leading trom boilers 12 and 13 isa stack 18 which terminates ,outsid'e hull 4l, and in stack 18 is a suitable valve 19. When running on the surface oil is supplied tov-burners 15 'trom tank 16 and air is supplied thereto by blowers` 20, which take air trom the atmosphere through pipes 21 and deliver it to the burners through pipes 22. 'llhe inlet sides ot blowers .20 are connected by pipes 23 to stack 18 and when running on the surface these pipes are closed by valves 2d. "llhe valve 19 in stack 18. is open. p y When running submerged valve 19 in stack 18 is closed and also valves 25 in pipes 21, and valves 241 in pipes 23 areopened.

apparatus the `saine being connected to the storage tanks by pipesl. Compressed-air 4is supplied tothe apparatusdO during sur--l` `tace operation by suitable air compressors 32 driven by the turbines 5 and 6. 'll`he compressors 32 are connected to the turbines apparatus in a confined space. Also by con fining the boiler installation in a sealed l compartment the engine room is not greatly heated or' charged With oil.

The oxygen 'making apparatus and the oxygen storage tanks may be of any suitable t pe and structure. They are shown only diagrammatically. In the case of the storage tanks, the liquid oxygen is preferably stored under considerable pressure and suitable heat installation is provided so that the heat losses are small.

In accordance With the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shownl is only illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means.,

What I claim as nevs7 and desire to'secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In combination, an elastic fluid engine, a boiler for supplying elastic fluid thereto, means for circulating furnace gases through the boiler, liquid oxygen storage tanks, means for supplying oxygen from said tanks and fuel to said furnace gases to form a combustible mixture, means for discharging the excess of furnace gas over-board, and apparatus for supplying liquid oxygen to saidtanks.

2. In a vesseladapted to operate on the surface or submerged, the combination of oxygen from said tanks and fuel to said.

furnace gases to form a combustible mixture.

3. In a vessel adapted to operate on the surface or submerged, the combination of an elastic fluid turbine for driving it, a boiler for supplying elastic fluid to the turbine, means for supplying fuel and air to the boiler `when the Vessel is on the surface, a stack for the boiler, means for closing the stack when the vessel is submerged, meansfor circulating furnace gases through the boiler, liquid oxygen storage tanks, means for supplying oxygen from said tanks and fuel to said furnace gases to form a combustible mixture, and means for pumping the excess of furnace gases overboard.

4. In a vessel adapted to operate on the surface or submerged, the combination of an elastic Huid turbine for driving it, a boiler for supplying elastic fluid to the turbine, means for supplying fuel to the boiler when the vessel is on the surface or submerged, a stack for the boiler, means for closing the stack when. the vessel is submerged, a pump having its suction side connected to the stack and to atmosphere and its discharge side connected to the boiler whereby it may be utilized for supplyingeither atmospheric air or furnace gases to the boiler, liquid oxygen storage tanks, means for supplying oxygen from said tanks to the boiler, and a second pump connected with the stack for pumping furnace gases overboard.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 413th day of Jul 1918.

WILLIAM L. .EMME/F. 

